Aging in America Essay 2

We all will one day face the reality of growing older. There are many aspects of this change that will affect us in a large way. According to the Merck Manual of Health and Aging, 1.5% of Americans are 85 or older. This research states that the number of people 100 years or older could rise from 1 out of 5,578 in the year 2000, to 1 out of 472 in the year 2050. It brings out that women have a longer life expectancy than men, among people aged 65 and older in the year 2000, there were 70 men for every 100 women. For people aged 85 and older the figure was 41 men for every 100 women. The site goes on to say that approximately 11% of Americans aged 65 and older are below the poverty line. (The Merck Manual of Health and Aging: http://www.merck.com/pubs/mmanual_ha/sec1/ch03/ch03a.html)
Some of these aspects that will have a large affect on the population include exercise and health awareness for the elderly, long-term care availability, elder abuse, housing situations, and the financial instability or limited resources for older Americans.
Our first topic to address is the challenges of staying healthy and getting enough exercise as we age. Many times older adults are left out of the picture for physical activity. Scientists have found that exercise and physical activity improve the health of people who are frail or have diseases that accompany aging. Swimming actually has a lot of good attributes for older adults. Many studies show that people with osteo-arthritis will improve their joints, will have less pain, and less disability with a certain amount of exercise. Four areas that are important for staying healthy and independent: strength, balance, flexibility, and endurance. Research shows that exercise and physical activity can help older people maintain or partly restore these four areas. Exercise also makes them feel good about themselves just as would a younger person. I believe they benefit the same ways as a young adult would. Any elderly person